Milton Friedman - Lesson of the Pencil

Milton Friedman uses a pencil to illustrate how the free market price system promotes cooperation and harmony among those with no common interest. www.LibertyPen.com
Source: Milton Friedman Speaks
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[@showmetheevidence777]

I can barely stop watching Milton's interviews... Between him and Thomas Sowell I've finally put KZbin to good use and learned stuff!

[@lukasmccain3529]

The quintessential capitalist Jew

[@lukasmccain3529]

Brattier Bloom maybe you are. Even if that is the case I was referring to Mr. Friedman.

[@tarunashok8446]

I love Friedman but Sowell's videos are too long, can you suggest a good channel for short videos of Sowell?

[@showmetheevidence777]

@@tarunashok8446 Not really... just need to look him up by name and watch shorter clips I suppose.

[@brianrajala7671]

Me too. Totally honest and far-sighted men. Two very distinguished people who continue to use their brains. They have the real answers. They are not telling people what they think would get them elected.

[@Mossad901]

the 5 dislikes on this video are from fidal castro, kim jong il , hugo chavez, evo morales, and barack obama.

[@keithlabelle6968]

My university teachers taught me Keynes.... I wrote my thesis on "Price Theory" Milton Friedman made my arguments bullet proof and my instructors had to give me a good mark.... I'm sure it was painful for them.

[@alexacosta2774]

This scenario reads like it was written by Ayn Rand. Getting "and everybody clapped" vibes. Didn't know economists could be this cringe.

[@juanio7036]

Nice

[@L0C0vision]

Same! I ended up with a degree in Economics and three years of experience defending the free market. It's very hard to explain a free market to someone who is a member of a union and has tenure.

[@janehrahan5116]

Because the teacher was polite, respectful, and reasonable? College student trying to cheese off their professor, their professor doing their job well, and the student assuming they are mad without evidence is pretty typical tbh.

[@markstuber4731]

@@alexacosta2774 Is your argument, it sounds like Ayan Rand so it must be wrong? Or is your argument, "it sounds like cringe" therefore it must be wrong?

[@audrawelsh8467]

I’m glad my economics teacher had me watch this video

[@mitchellleese]

Lol I made my business teacher in high school watch this and showed the whole class

[@susudarake]

@@mitchellleese hhhahhhaha....

[@estrogen_intolerant]

mitchellleese good. Keynesianism is thriving in public schools right now. When they say that government owns the means of production, show them this video and they’ll change their mind.

[@mitchellleese]

@@estrogen_intolerant Well I'm not in high school anymore but if anyone says that to me, I will certainly send them this video. And unfortunately you're right, Keynesian economics is all over the place. It's terrible.

[@korthel288]

Why does everyone have a good econ teacher except me

[@joshuamills3917]

This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.

[@Billd0z3r]

What a voice of reason in the rough seas of economic illiteracy here in the USSA. This gave me a moment of solace , thank you LibertyPen

[@michaelpisciarino5348]

0:00 Intro video 0:40 We need to know how a free market works 2:00 You have to know so much and have many materials to be able to make a pencil ✏️ 4:07 Making a purchase is making an indirect deal with people in South America and Malaysia, etc. 4:42 How do they cooperate? The Price System (Invisible Hand). Why do they do it? They believe they are better off by doing it. 7:30 So long as it is working, you don’t see it as the complex mechanism that it is. 8:46 Life is Not a Zero-Sum Game 9:36 It does not require orders.

[@ryanjones7681]

Thx

[@HowardFarranDDS]

Milton Friedman classic - Lesson of the Pencil. Milton could explain economics to anyone. What an amazing mind. Howard Farran DDS, MBA

[@brandonholt-smith8294]

Svetislav Meandžija boy arent u a sensitive little flower.

[@svetislavmeandzija9192]

Geoff Taylor With pleasure Geoff. As I assume, we are talking about Friedman being a serious man, and that he knew and stood by everything he said, that he wasn't, as I think, a comedian, a joker, a showman at the end, at any occasion, and let's not leave this little "story" out of the "context(s)" and others of his "preachings" available to the public . And the context is a 40 year history of application of his "little stories" and "(a)morals" filled with distress, coup etas, wars, miseries and shameless invasions of intimacy, privacy and sovereignty, whatever that might mean and has meant in the past, and you and I are witness and which is full of bestial irresponsible poker decision-making(s) which later have to be remedied by a "community". And when evident or reviled by a public: Ups! I won't do it again-attitude. Sorry, it was Act of God. Its a past practice, etc. And then sanctioned by a bonus. Common... Just to clear up all your thoughts about the generic fault: All of us do not have the same starting point. And caring for those in need, less fortune, or simple too young makes us no different from animals, which we are. Having RULES, COMMON interests, as we are, makes us different from hordes, makes us emancipated horrors and difficulties of past. Wolfs and other "boys" are cancer and menace to societies, is there a proof that is needed? But dishonesty! I am confident that even Friedman did not believe in much of what he was saying, as reality proved him wrong on a daily basis. You know, for us so-called "layman" it is an insult when economists who also call themselves "scientist", which are no more then accountants wanting to be a chef, accepting and ready to "cook" that in a mathematics 2+2 is in most of the cases 4, but it can variate (there you can insert an equitation of choice), especially if you blame it on a "deficit", but at the end they are no more then a weatherman(s). Uh.. what a science to conclude that! But accuracy, ah, who cares about accuracy. That is where the "magic" is! When it works, we get the bonuses. When it doesn't, we again get bonuses, but must make excuses to the public, to the "consumers community", too. Later is, uh, quite embarrassing sometimes. But keeping up with an attitude and saving imaginative appearances that everything is ok, we can continue to fake ourselves that this is in a our nature, and therefore good for us. Cause, after all, today, even a "bad" publicity is still a "publicity". And this is just in regard to us, humans, society. What it did and continues to do to our home, the planet, you know, the place we live, hahahahahaha, man, get serious!

[@brandonholt-smith8294]

care to sum that up?

[@brandonholt-smith8294]

Dumb grow a brain

[@MsGeoffers]

Svetislav Meandžija You didn't answer my question, choosing instead to post an essay that isn't relevant to it. I repeat; what does Milton Friedman say in this video that you object to? A follow-up question - can you make a post that sticks to the point and doesn't throw insults? I am very interested in your next response.

[@ShamanMcLamie]

Reminds me of a story about a guy who tried to make a Toaster completely on his own from scratch. This guy literally traveled to the mine to dig metals and melted recycled plastics. In the end it cost him over 2000 dollars and several months to make a crude toaster that broke after 30 seconds of use. We can buy a relatively cheap toaster for less than 15$ dollars that is probably made in a few days and will last a few years.

[@chipspangler736]

+ShamanMcLamie more recently, a guy made a sandwich "from scratch" ... gathering all of the ingredients himself (growing the vegetables, extracting salt from the sea, gathering honey, etc.). He didn't even raise the chicken (he did go and kill it though). It cost $1500.

[@TAKAsan_English]

ShamanMcLamie isn’t he a Thomas Edison who made a toaster ? Because I remember before that, there wasn’t such a thing called breakfast

[@Knaeben]

There are still other ways to toast bread though, with only slightly more effort.

[@17SewerTeeth_The2nd]

What game is ur profile pic? I ferl like i played it on xbox

[@AlC92575]

Our kids should be watching this in schools.

[@brennenqueen1213]

we did today!

[@Rikishade1]

alc7898 Yeah that way they wind up resorting to stale reductionist arguments in support of a system predicated on and perpetuated by exploitation and accumulation.

[@1973deepee]

Right; those same exploiters and accumulators who provided the computer, internet, transportation, food - all the stuff you use every day - giving you the means by which you express your vapid opinions on forums such as this. The curs! The only way you can reconcile for your hypocrisy is to unplug, shed your clothing and all your possessions and go live in the wild. If you haven't the courage to live your convictions, quit trolling and whining. Do something productive.

[@imulippo5245]

alc7898 Kids should be free from state propaganda and indoctrination

[@celia-ov6rm]

YES!!

[@wisanikenny5097]

Now this is the most brilliant explanation of the free market system I have ever heard. He did a great job of explaining how the free market is more efficient on its own.

[@tuncaytheking]

I really admire his talent to describe the complicated ideas in such a way that a fool can understand.

[@25Amagi]

What a treasure Milton Friedman is. I'm so thankful his writings & videos will be available to future generations./ Of course, government has some necessary functions in any country, but how much government is best? I contend that the American experience shows that the Founders with their Constitution delineated it best, i.e., limited government. Sadly, all three branches of the Fed pay less than lip service to the Constitution today & the more the feds mettle in business the more harm is done.

[@anthonyperkins3527]

What an amazing man. Milton Friedman was born in New York City of working class, migrant parents. He went on to win The Nobel Prize In Economics and The Presidential Medal Of Freedom. Milton Friedman stood 5' tall.

[@kmdskins]

He was also an economic advisor to Ronald Reagan.

[@anthonyperkins3527]

@@kmdskins I knew that. Thanks

[@anthonyperkins3527]

I just noticed how many views this video has received, 477K as of April, 2024. That's not that many considering the importance of the subject being discussed and the simple manner in which Dr. Friedman has presented it. I would suggest this video should be part of the elementary, middle and high school level curriculums. The basic understanding of the free market system is an invaluable lesson one should be made aware of in their early years of education. The way money, business and life in general works seems to be lacking in our education system today. Milton Friedman besides being an award winning economist is a great teacher. Much can be learned from his lectures.

[@spanaker]

pure genius

[@peanutgallery7753]

Sell me this pencil

[@MrVinnyable1]

Wolf of Wall Street

[@ab1577]

Haha, good one

[@Mishkola]

Are you in the market for a pencil?

[@ilikechocolate3741]

Nice

[@PlayaSinNombre]

Kapitolist Schweine! Give me your pencil factory!

[@e.h.1045]

So simply put by such a brilliant mind. Love it

[@herbbadgeley2200]

It gives me hope that my professor in 2023 America pointed to this video. I hope my classmates appreciate this as much as I did. I doubt it, thought.

[@Proman642]

Much of the problems we face in the US have their roots in the government meddling in the free markets. For example, our current debacle with healthcare started because of price controls during WW2 pushed employers to offer health insurance as a way around price controls to attract workers. The mass injection of insurance companies into the healthcare system put medical care on a path to ever increasing costs. The fix became more government meddling with the start of Medicaid and then Medicare and the cost of healthcare price inflation soared even more. Today there is no price competition in healthcare - in most cases, you can not even get a price for a procedure. Imagine what would happen to the cost of automobile repair if you could not even find out the cost until after the work was done?

[@ilikechocolate3741]

When I read that text for the first time, it did bring a tear to my eye. Such a beautiful idea.

[@nileshkumar6816]

wow this blew me away

[@piersdermot7932]

It's amazing how many things we use from day to day that we just take for granted. A little understanding of truths that are hidden in plain sight everyday could give us a much better perspective on aspects of society, and help us to collectively make better decisions for our future.

[@palipali4264]

Thank you for saying, "take for granted" rather than, "take for granite." Pet peeves, you see.

[@mattashmore9675]

Heard this a few months ago from Mark Levin. Such a great story, and Friedman tells it in his absolutely genius way only he can.

[@svetislavmeandzija9192]

Matt Ashmore Troll is your gready grisy mother.

[@rosalynkaplan8756]

Par for the course! Argumentum Ad Hominem. Attack the person. Fail to argue the logic. Fail to reason. Attack. Attack. Attack. Imbecilic. Nasty. Inhumane​.

[@rosalynkaplan8756]

Matt Ashmore, I agree with you 100%. Below I see that my original post seems to look like I disagreed with you. My comment below is a response to the ignorance of the Svetislav thing (to be polite). The indoctrination is rampant. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is represented by these creeps.

[@Herandezbrothers]

@@rosalynkaplan8756 you must be nuts

[@artnickel1664]

This is perhaps the best 10 minutes you can spend to help you explain why Capitalism works and Socialism doesn't. Remember, Socialism doesn't reward people for their creativity, they award the state. This should be showed to every kid in school at around the 6th grade on.

[@gabrielm4850]

Depends what you call capitalism. Socialism is proven, it works too for so many years. And that's only because none is ... pure.

[@artnickel1664]

@@gabrielm4850 Really? Where has Socialism worked. Not the FREE STUFF crap the Democrats are pushing, but real Socialism in a large country. It might work in a country that is small and agrarian, but China proves it doesn't work in a large country or in totality like Marx preaches.

[@gabrielm4850]

@@artnickel1664 Socialism worked everywhere capitalism failed and vice versa. But, dont take me wrong, I'm not a supporter. I've been there yet I'll not fall for another kind only because is at the other extreme. What I mean is that both Capitalism and Socialism are not by the book, pure systems. That's because there are only ideologies and societies are made by humans. Seeing an ideology as perfect is wrong by definition. Firstly because is extremist to exclude another way of life living. And this exclusion is every single time imposed by force, regardless the system.

[@artnickel1664]

Gabriel M everywhere people point to it working is in either a very small & rich country or a country with communism or fascism as its government. In many of the small countries it is really going downhill, especially in medicine. It failed in China so they have turned to Fascism, allowing some entrepreneurs under heavy regulation. Check out the number of billionaires in China. Remember, in a true socialist country the people will all have a similar net worth, otherwise it is Fascism or communism, not pure socialism.

[@gabrielm4850]

@@artnickel1664 same as Capitalist countries. They turn in government control whenever they need to steer. Look at US now. Interferes with free market and private companies not only inside it's own yet trying to impose to the other countries too

[@howto7755]

“Not one of them has been forced to do it” ... well I hope that’s true...

[@joshuasalem5022]

Yeah, the world Milton describes here is the “ideal” world More likely than not, many of the people involved in making the pencil were forced to do so through some kind of exploitative force or coercion whether that be having no other jobs available, or you can’t afford to gain new skills to choose a different job, or something like that

[@howto7755]

Joshua Salem plenty of choice for the kids mining in the Congo!

[@JoaoBatista-yq4ml]

​@@joshuasalem5022 When he says force or coercion he's talking about the ones that are imposed by people. People are forced to eat because of nature, and a job is one way of meeting that need. There's the choice of not working and begging for food. This is much difference from communism where you either work or you are shot.

[@juarezm.6737]

@@JoaoBatista-yq4ml socialist ppl are too dumb and simple to understand that logic... they jsut cant accept that there no free lunch in this world dimension.

[@BrassicaRappa]

This is an issue we all face. The process is too complicated for individuals to follow, so if coercion or other destruction is happening at some level, there's very little potential for market feedback from the consumer end.

[@tuncaytheking]

One of the greatest analogy/example that have ever been made in the history of mankind.

[@LibertyPen]

Greed has always existed, but in capitalism, you have to serve your fellow man to satisfy your greed. You must provide a service or product so valuable another person will voluntarily give his money in trade. In socialism, greed (manifested in the lust for power) simply transfers from the market system to the political one. In that system, one need only become a looter to obtain money.

[@WeAreWafc]

Fascinating! Never thought about this before

[@MoeGreensRightEye]

Poetry

[@ilikechocolate3741]

It's musuc to my ears

[@BeauBirkett]

I found "I, Pencil" a few months ago before findind Friedman and Sowell, glad to hear Milton giving a lecture on it!

[@documenter1199]

I love how Milton Friedman is always so civil, open, and polite in his speech, unlike modern "intellectuals"

[@palipali4264]

Lol. So true!! He presents information and allows others to think. Unlike the modern intellectuals who act so prideful, as though if you do not agree with everything they say, you are stupid and evil.

[@AWO4me]

Milton is the Man!

[@mikesheen741]

Happy 100th Birthday Milton Friedman.

[@4EyedAnimation]

Mr F always makes complete sense...great post.

[@keithlauderjr1691]

It's that knowing smirk and explaining ability that has me hang on his every word. What a cool guy he was. RIP TEACHER was.

[@MrCovi2955]

The amount of steel required to build a steel mill to produce steel really shows how far our economy has come.

[@BPDHANA]

EXCELLENT LECTURE! I just got enlightened by his little piece of illustration.. as a libertarian socialist myself, i'm always in favor of laissez-faire capitalism and Professor Friedman really summed it up in few sentences!

[@trystdodge6177]

What is a libertarian socialist? contradiction of terms. Are you saying you're a centrist?

[@CC-te5zf]

This should be required viewing for all high school students.

[@Zb_Calisthenic]

What a succinct way to explain free enterprise.

[@bosbeats]

Engrossing, and a must see for everybody.

[@abigailsmith2512]

Keep up the good work

[@DarthJeffery]

This is a brilliant analogy.

[@seandunn8657]

This is an extremely important mindset.

[@LifeOfCod]

This isn’t even taught in most colleges. But bachelors in economics think they have all the knowledge

[@masnick]

When you say, "the oil wealth never reached the poor," do you mean that there were some people who fit the definition of "impoverished" who had a legitimate claim on some of the oil wealth (such as, "I worked for an oil company"), and who did not receive just, negotiated, and agreed-upon compensation for their work? Or do you mean, "No one seized that money from the oil industry and transferred it to us to make things 'fair'"?

[@palipali4264]

Good point. How fair do things need to be? Most sociopaths (billionaires typically) feel nothing as children starve. They only begin to feel concerned for their own salvation as they approach death. Then they start making large donations to public interests. I would, however, not want socialism or communism to ensure everyone got something because that leads to poverty a whole lot worse and horrific power plays.

[@PaulHigby]

@@palipali4264 “Fair” is fulfilling agreements. How much of someone else’s money should someone receive before it’s considered fair?

[@BStover93]

@@PaulHigby The question that supersedes that is never answered: Who decides what is fair? The wage earner who did the work got paid, or the entitled who depends on the income of others in a socialist's dream? Maybe it's the third party who had no business in the situation at all and is irrelevant? Each would have a different answer. There is no 'fair' unless the situation was a constant for all three and the wage earner earned nothing and was indifferent imparting nothing to the entitled.

[@zsu2713]

Despite of my views on Chicago school Milton was one of the best economist and also he was my first teacher

[@Trey2391]

i love it when my homework for a class is to watch some video this video wasnt actually all that boring it was quite interesting actually.

[@xealit]

I wonder how you put the graphite bit inside the wood.

[@blinkyblonk4912]

You don't . The graphite stays still and the wood gets wrapped around it.

[@Joomington]

So this channel should be called Liberty Pencil?

[@hockley91]

I wish I watched this when I was younger. It took KZbin for me to find it.

[@shadowstorm1989]

His example wasn't meant to explain competition, but the idea of spontaneous harmony that the price system provides. In producing a standard number 2 pencil, nearly the entire world economy is involved in its production from harvesting the materials to selling it at a store. Each party involved needs only 1 piece of information to make an informed decision, and that is the price of the good or service they are buying. Everything else is erroneous information.

[@LaughWhileItsStillLegal]

Just got banned on r/socialism for posting this video. I knew well in advance they would do it XD It was worth it XD

[@jamesdavis9036]

You posted it on there just to get banned, didn't you? ;) Here's a quote from Genius of the Crowd, a poem by Charles Bukowski, that I think fits in this situation: "Beware those quick to censor, for they are afraid of what they do not know."

[@MetalDetroit]

James Davis GREAT QUOTE ! Never heard that before

[@Ryan-ee5lp]

@@jamesdavis9036 what does that even mean? Wouldn't the people who censor know why there are censoring?

[@jamesdavis9036]

@@Ryan-ee5lp They know very well why they are censoring. They are censoring because they want people to remain ignorant of the truth.

[@gabbar51ngh]

I got banned from r/Communism 101 when someone asked why USSR fell. I couldn't hold back. They were sitting ducks. Instant ban after I replied.

[@johndodson8464]

4:09 "When I go down to the store and put down a quarter, I am trading with thousands of people all over the world."

[@ilikechocolate3741]

Aaah Milton how much I miss you

[@learninghistory4397]

What he forgets to mention is that there is another transaction involved in the making of the pencil where one of the sides is not better off: the transaction of work force for money. He focuses on the business men, the one who produces rubber and the one who buys it to make a pencil, and those two do profit from the transaction, but they profit from it because of other, not so fair, transaction, where people's health and time is being exchanged for a misery in order to collect and process the rubber and in order to build the pencil, leading to a final product which they can sell at a higher price than it took to produce. The system works, but let's not talk about it like it's all fairies and fire works. The price system works at a price, and it's a soul-wrenching, like-taking price.

[@asmith7094]

Downvotes are from people who prefer pens

[@MRMcLobster]

This makes me want to play Minecraft so bad.

[@christianpetersen163]

MRMcLobster Oh no, don't get me started on that! ;( I don't have time for it, since I have to make aggresive statements on KZbin to defend my ideology right now!

[@jettbugg]

...A very interesting lesson well worth watching.

[@MrJabbothehut]

This video is incredible. Literally the counter to people who think that they can run everything like a video game.

[@ismelltrouble7266]

I wanted to make a coffee table for my girlfriend. And now it’s cost almost $600 in tools just to make the table and I still need more tools and materials. What Milton Friedman says is true on many different levels. But for me almost literally. 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@javierlejardi7368]

The essence of Capitalism, the only socioeconomic system that really work.

[@Cromper]

Javier, I would have agreed at the time this video was filmed, but there is too much government intervention within the capitalist system today, making it more of a socialist system. Milton Friedman believed in free market economies above capitalism as an ideology.

[@lapamful]

Gov intervening in the economy means it's not a free market Ed. What we need is to get gov out of economics, there's nothing wrong with capitalism. Capitalism isn't a light switch, it's more than just an on or off position. What we're living with now has taken decades for the left to achieve. It needs to be rolled back to the state it was in before FDR, Woodrow Wilson and other politicians destroyed it.

[@78g476]

He is the reason why I want to continue studying economics in grad school.

[@fastica]

Reminds me of "if you really want to make an apple pie from scratch you have to start creating the universe"

[@brendynestolas554]

I'm gay

[@Nootathotep]

keep us posted

[@Knaeben]

Buy a pencil

[@christianpetersen163]

You know folks, I think the problem with the world is exactly that no one knows how a pencil is made. I bet you that you wont be able, as a consumer, to trace back the supply chain that went into making it. You'll just be standing there in the supermarket with a 10 cent pencil and wonder why it was so cheap. You follow? ;)

[@probert2436]

Christian Petersen No, its wonderful that a no one knows how to create a pencil. Your high standard if living is because no one knows how to make a pencil. Imagine if everyone had to create their own pencils, phones, furniture, or whatever. If that were the case then nothing would get done. Production and productive society would ground to a halt. But if you are implying that no one has any skills anymore, well, then i completely agree.

[@ZinnerJones]

+Tom Vessey I would imply the problem is that society as a whole has lost understanding of what both of you are saying.

[@christianpetersen163]

+Tom Vessey What I mean is that it is beoynd discussion that buying clothes and other commodities made without any standards or concern for people and the environment is destroying our world. We keep buying the cheapest sh*t we can get our hands on because the industry, of course, hide the true cost of products, and we choose to buy their lies and live in feigned ignorance just to be able to afford a little more cheap sh*t. If we were just remotely decent as a species, there would be a demand to know exactly how products are made, but there isn't, because we're dumb as sh*t, and we don't give a f*ck about some chinaman working 20 hours/day. :)

[@TrooperSC]

+Christian Petersen So, somehow the world would be better off if we all unnecessarily spent more of what we make on things that we could get cheaper, thereby leaving us all with less? So then what happens after that when the next guy who says I'll bet I could sell more of what I'm selling if I just offer it a little cheaper, thereby starting the great exercise that is the free market? Should he be denied that right in order to artificially inflate the price of those goods? It's not difficult. It's simple economics. The only way to suppress free market capitalism is by government force. That suppression then leads to shortages of everything, starvation on a mass scale, need, want, violence and governmental tyranny and brutality.

[@christianpetersen163]

TrooperSC​ I'm not a big proponent of capitalism, but seeing that we are stuck with it, I want to make it work. The only way it is ever going to develop is if people become more conscious of the impact of their purchases. Government intervention is fundamentally inefficient, people will somehow get the commodities they want, only the impact of a product will be made untraceable because the activity is now illegal. No, we need consumers that really put effort into finding out whether products agree with their values, and we need companies that will make all the needed information about the products available. I am all for increasing cost efficiency, but I don't want to award my money to the cheapest supplier if their only innovation is to pay workers lower wages. I hope I have made my case clear now. Look at the world around you. It is made of things that people made. The way those things came about exclusively determine what world we live in.

[@shadowstorm1989]

The free flow of information solves that problem with much less hassle than the Government can. If I as a parent found out that the pencils I was buying for my children had lead in them, I would stop buying them and get something safe. I'd bet I wouldn't be the only one to do so. This represents a large loss of business for the pencil makers, and as a result it is in their best interest to not make pencils with lead paint.

[@jeronimotamayolopera4834]

AWESOME.

[@aslanbc]

Still a zero sum game when you consider that the graphite/carbon miners and rubber plantation workers are risking their lives in poor working conditions for 12+ hours a day and still can barely feed their families with the income they earn. Meanwhile, us Americans can buy a whole pack of pencils for just a fraction of an hours wage, even at minimum wage. Not everyone benefits equally from this arrangement... not by a long shot!

[@libertylarry3224]

So why do you think these graphite miners are working under these horrible conditions? Its because its preferable to any other option they have. The benefit might be small but its still there, otherwise they would not work at all. The reason they have no other options is probably because a dictator or warlord is making it difficult to start and maintain a buisiness so no one is competing for workforce.

[@davidzook8569]

J Hook equality is the elusive unicorn that doesn't exsist. With varying levels of intelligence, work, circumstance, drive, ect equality can't exsist. The socialist would say that they have equality but do they, of course not. In socialism there is a necessity for a ruling class. Are the ruling class equal to the masses, of course not. In capitalism everyone can work towards success. Everyone might not end up successful but they all have the opportunity to attempt it.

[@osman3404]

Liberty Larry Yes but the argument Milton freedman was making is that the graphite miners agreed to the small benefit you described because “they believed they are better off in this deal” while you clearly said the minors have no choice because some dictator is not giving them any other options. It’s not a free market or a miracle pricing system for The graphite miner who is forced to the trade

[@blinkyblonk4912]

Nobody said they benefited equally . If you are living in Poverty then some employment ... ANY employment .... is the first rung on a ladder . Poverty - Improvement - Sacrifice to get education for your child - child becomes an employee - grandchild becomes a professional . And it happened IN AMERICA with MY family ! I'm an Architect . My Great Grandfather scraped through bins.

[@McMurchie]

This is why aliens explaining an advanced hyper drive is basically useless to us because we have none of the connected knowledge, nor the infrastructure.

[@rodolfoboraschi8641]

This video is better than most of college class of nowadays...

[@Chaaarge]

@TheVideoRepo which externalities are you reffering to?

[@neeltheother2342]

Leonard Read was a legend. Check out his other writings when u get the chance.

[@whereuandiare]

We need a modern Milton to remind the world the power of human ingenuity in a free market system.

[@BStover93]

we don't need a modern Milton. We already have Milton here. His stories still apply to this date. His answers to problems in the 1980s are still answers to the problems in the 2020's because nobody applied his solutions.

[@xit1254]

@erikfinnegan - I suggest you look up the concept of “regulatory capture”.

[@muckypup595]

Great example, I like to ask similar questions to students so they have to engage their minds. I wonder if any of those students really understood what Friedman was saying or were they doodling with their pencils in awe of the product and not the producer.

[@PivotB3stZ]

@MartinPerssonDotName I disagree. He is also a hero of our time, and will continue being a hero for generations to come. He is still alive in videos like these. And influences just as much today. I'm a 15 year old in high school and have used his knowledge to debate, students and teachers alike. And when it comes to economics I always win. It's because this great man is still changing lives.

[@MrJaydiction]

Ty matt at BTC university for sharing this in his course.

[@johndodson8464]

Not only is it a WIN-WIN, but this explains WHY people trade. Incentive. If each person in a trade did not perceive that they were better off, why would they go to the trouble of trading?

[@andreacardenas2603]

Disculpen alguien sabe donde puedo encontrar este video en español o al menos con subtitulos

[@2402Stevo]

Does any one know what the music is at the beginning of the video?

[@dwaynelewis8166]

Mann how powerful this is reading in 2022!

[@kpscully]

Excellent!!!

[@johndavidsohn2388]

Pure genius

[@SparklyRafa]

freaking brilliant!

[@hockley91]

Let freedom ring.

[@OfficialCptAJones]

Im lovin' the Big Lebowski references on here lol :-) OVER THE LINE!

[@zealotguy]

In order to bake a pie, one must first create the universe.

[@Kelavis]

"Without coersion or a gun to their head..." There is an invisible gun that is comprised of hunger, health, and home. All that is required for life occurs naturally and freely, but our system in which everything is owned by someone you must "earn a living".

[@kunallobo4136]

Pencils are to Milton Friedman as apple pies are to Carl Sagan

[@EmpperorIng]

A monetary system is necessary to quantify the worth of the labor of everybody involved in the process of making the pencils divided by production. The pricing system is necessary to determine whether or not more or less pencils need to be made.

[@MohaMoha-dq5qj]

Brilliant

[@dawidzielinski9660]

the reflections in his glasses are fucking hypnotic

[@Radioswim]

@ShamanMcLamie well put, it amazes me how many people of this generation (of my own age group) do not understand the worthlessness of currency itself, but rather the worth is at the trade that took place to aquire it.

[@dancthegr]

perhaps Friedman's best contribution to economics

[@omarperezrodriguez1827]

Mindblown

[@DrCruel]

I saw that film. Your insults are more appropriate for the person who made it. You have a nice day too.

[@mpc91]

@MrCrgl - You can insist whatever you want. You can insist the ocean is made of skittles, but it will never be so. Friedman's philosophy is excellent.

[@mpc91]

@HelderWeil - I'm sorry, I was responding to threads at the top, and not all of your posts came through, so I was trying to catch up.

[@jamesdavis9036]

A truly wise man